Dare County Newsletter - June 2024

Dare County will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house event on Monday, June 3, 2024 to celebrate the recent completion of the new Dare MedFlight Hangar (EMS Station 7) on Roanoke Island.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 2 p.m., and following the ribbon-cutting ceremony an open house will be held until 6 p.m. at the facility, which is located at 1078 Driftwood Drive in Manteo.

The open house portion of this event will include:

• Self-guided tours of the new hangar, sleeping quarters and workspaces
• MedFlight helicopter and ambulance displays
• Safety equipment overviews
• A "Night Vision Goggle Experience" room
• "Stop the Bleed" training
• "Hands Only" CPR training
• Free blood pressure checks with Dare County EMS staff members
• Cornhole and other children's activities
• Light refreshments

The new hangar for the Dare MedFlight helicopter is part of a multiphase project to improve and modernize outdated Dare County EMS facilities throughout the county in order to better serve the residents and visitors of our community. For more detailed information, please click the button below.

The Dare County Department of Health & Human Services invites members of the community to participate in the county’s 2024 Community Health Needs Survey, which was developed in partnership with Outer Banks Health and Healthy Carolinians of the Outer Banks. 

Responses to the survey—which takes approximately 10 minutes to complete—are anonymous and will be used to better understand the unique needs of the Dare County community regarding commonly experienced physical and mental health issues; the availability of area healthcare facilities and ease of access to these facilities; the affordability of healthcare services, equipment and medications; as well as potential barriers that prevent many people within Dare County from seeking essential healthcare services, among many others.    

Please take a few moments to make a difference and help shape the future of the Dare County community by clicking the button below to take the 2024 Community Health Needs Survey today!

Dare County EMS Station 1—the third and final station included in Phase 1 of Dare County’s multiphase EMS improvements project—is nearing completion. All of the vinyl tile flooring has been installed, and all of the electrical and plumbing work is now complete. Epoxy flooring will be poured during the first week of June in the bays and locker rooms.  

The parking lots located in both the front and back of the station have been formed and poured, and the service road will soon be resurfaced. In addition, the pump station at the facility will be started up the first week of June to ensure that it is functioning correctly. During the next two weeks, landscaping will be planted around the property, and all signage for the station will be installed by the middle of June.

Construction is on schedule to be completed in the summer of 2024, and more information regarding a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house to celebrate the completion of the project will be announced as it becomes available.

The Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge will host a series of beach cleanups along the beaches of the refuge throughout the summer, and volunteers from the community are invited to attend! Those who would like to participate are asked to meet at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center—which is located at 14500 N.C. Highway 12 in Rodanthe, N.C.—at 10 a.m. on the following cleanup dates:

• Thursday, June 20, 2024
• Thursday, July 18, 2024
• Thursday, August 1, 2024

These beach cleanups will be held as scheduled weather permitting, and participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing, sturdy shoes and work gloves. For more information, please contact the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center at 252-987-2394. 

Hurricane season begins on Saturday, June 1, 2024, and in addition to building an emergency supply kit, downloading the Dare County Hurricane Guide and signing up to receive customized emergency alerts at OBXAlerts.com, now is the time to ensure you understand the processes and procedures that are in place in Dare County to keep residents and visitors safe if a storm impacts the area this season. 

Who is responsible for making decisions in Dare County during an emergency?

When our community is facing widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property from any hazard, the chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners and the six town mayors have the authority to declare a State of Emergency under the North Carolina Emergency Management Act. These Senior Leaders work together, along with the Dare County Sheriff and the National Park Superintendent, as they make tough decisions to impose restrictions and prohibitions needed to ensure public health and safety while also coordinating response efforts across the county. To view a video with more detailed information about how emergency decisions are made in Dare County, please click here.

What are the two hurricane evacuation zones in Dare County?

Zone A: This zone comprises areas south of Oregon Inlet. This includes all seven villages on Hatteras Island (Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras).

Zone B: This zone comprises areas north of Oregon Inlet. This includes the Dare County mainland and Roanoke Island, as well as the towns of Manteo, Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores and Duck.

How will I know if an evacuation order is issued?

Dare County Emergency Management advises all residents, property owners and visitors to sign up to receive customized alerts—including severe weather watches and warnings, countywide evacuation orders and other time-critical notifications—at OBXAlerts.com. Individuals are also encouraged to ensure they have “Government Alerts” enabled on their mobile device so that they can receive Wireless Emergency Alerts from government officials.

In addition to these types of alerts, up-to-date storm-related information will also be posted on the county’s website, DareNC.gov, and distributed to subscribers via e-notifications. To sign up to receive customized e-notifications, please visit DareNC.gov/Subscribe.

What route should I take to evacuate?

Dare County has two evacuation routes: Highway 64 West and Highway 158 North. Dare County Emergency Management encourages the use of Highway 64 West—especially for anyone evacuating from Hatteras Island, Nags Head and Roanoke Island. Highway 64 has less congestion and fewer traffic lights, allowing drivers to maintain a constant speed. This route may appear longer on a GPS device, but it is typically faster than Highway 168.  

How do I get back into Dare County after an evacuation?

In order to enter Dare County following a mandatory evacuation, individuals must present a valid ID showing a Dare County address, or a current reentry permit (along with a valid corresponding ID), and follow a staged reentry process that is designed to facilitate a safe and orderly return to the community. For more detailed information about this process—and to apply for a 2024 reentry permit—please visit DareNC.gov/Reentry.

Registration for the Dare County Library’s popular Summer Reading Program begins this month! The free program—whose 2024 theme is “Adventure Begins at Your Library”—encourages children of all ages to read during the summer months to help maintain the reading skills they developed throughout the school year and ensure they are well prepared to enter the classroom once again in the fall. 

In addition to rewarding children who read a total of 30 days during the program with an opportunity to win prizes, the Summer Reading Program also encourages children to participate in a variety of fun, engaging and educational programs and activities scheduled to take place at each of the Dare County Library’s three branches throughout the summer.

Registration for the 2024 Summer Reading Program will begin on Monday, June 24, 2024 at the Kill Devil Hills Library and the Manteo Library and on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at the Hatteras Library. Children and their parents can stop by the front desk of their local library branch during business hours anytime this summer to sign up once registration begins.     

The Dare County Library will also host two free kickoff registration events to celebrate the launch of the program, including a petting zoo at the Kill Devil Hills Library on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. as well as an Imagine Circus Juggling Show performance at each branch at various times on Thursday, June 27, 2024. For more detailed information—including a calendar of events and activities for each library location—please click the button below. 

Did you know that rip currents are the third most deadly weather-related hazard in the U.S. and have needlessly claimed the lives of unsuspecting swimmers over the years? To protect yourself, as well as your friends, family and fellow beachgoers this season, let’s brush up on some of the basics about rip currents—and what you should do if you are ever caught in one.

What are rip currents?

Rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that pose a significant danger to swimmers due to their ability to quickly pull individuals away from the shore and out to sea, creating a risk of drowning for those who don’t know how to safely escape them.

What should I do if I am caught in a rip current?

The most important thing to note is that rip currents pull you out, not under. If you find yourself caught in a rip current:

• Don’t panic or swim against the current.
• Yell and wave for help.
• Stay afloat. Try to relax and float with the current until it weakens.
• Swim parallel to the shore. 
• Once you no longer feel the pull of the current, you can begin swimming to shore.

How can I avoid being caught in a rip current?

Before you head to the beach, take a minute to check the daily beach condition report by visiting LoveTheBeachRespectTheOcean.com. You can also sign up to receive daily beach condition forecasts and alerts via text by texting “OBXBeachConditions” to 77295. 

Dare County, in partnership with Current TV, has released a video of the ceremony that was held on May 23, 2024 to celebrate seven Dare County EMS employees who recently graduated from College of The Albemarle’s (COA) Advanced EMT to Paramedic program. 

Created by Dare County EMS and COA, the Advanced EMT to Paramedic program is an accelerated internal paramedic academy created by Dare County EMS and COA for existing staff in the agency who wanted to advance their EMS credential level.

The ceremony—which was held at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at the Dare County Administration Building in Manteo—celebrated the graduation of Ian Dudek, Cara Hanrahan, Jesse Moore, Codie Patterson, Toby Paz, Tyler Roberts and Matthew Stankavich. To view the video, please click the button below.

Meet Preston!

Meet Preston, our Outer Banks SPCA Pet of the Week! Preston is an 8-month-old tabby who loves getting pets and cuddles! This sweet boy is playful and curious, and he's looking for his forever home. Stop by the Dare County Animal Shelter, located at 378 Airport Road in Manteo, to meet Preston, and click here to watch a video produced by Current TV.